Dave and I are avid hunters and typically freeze many cuts of meat each year. Because of how much meat we store, we have a stand up freezer in addition to our regular fridge/freezer. Freezing so much of our stockpile is slightly risky because if something were to happen to the freezer or power for too long, we'd lose it all. My brother is also an avid hunter and introduced us to canning meat to have another storage option.

The downfall to canning meat is it does not have as much versatility when it comes to cooking but it is still very delicious. Canned meat does not really hold the cube shape so it can't be skewered or stir-fried in the way frozen cubed meat can. The meat is fully cooked in the can and ends up being very tender and more like a shredded meat. Regardless, we still find plenty of good uses for canned meat - pasta, chili, casseroles, stews, sauteed with some onions, etc.

Here's how we do it:

First, cut the meat into about 1 inch cubes.

Then, sterilize the lids and jars in boiling water.

After everything is prepped, stuff the jars with the cubed meat. You should really pack the meat tightly to minimize how much empty space there is.

Hubs packing jars, he's so dreamy ;-)

This is how the jars should look once packed. We found that approximately 2 lbs of cubed venison will fit in a quart jar.

Once the jars are packed, put a lid on each one and into the pressure canner! Following the directions on the pressure canner, vent steam and then bring the pressure up to 10-15 lbs and keep it there for 90 minutes.

After the 90 minutes, allow the canner to cool off and the pressure to release. Remove the jars (carefully, don't tip them!), and allow them to cool on the counter. Listen and then check for each jar's seal to pop. If a seal does not pop, store the meat in the refrigerator and use within a week. Otherwise, store in a pantry!